Belkin In Car Stuff Review

November 25, 2016

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Belkin In Car Stuff Review
November 25, 2016

Belkin In Car Stuff Review

So a few weeks ago we traveled back to the UK, it was an ‘interesting’ trip to say the least. Those who know me personally will understand what I mean and those who don’t well, let’s just leave it at that.

Just to clarify, no money changed hands here, Belkin just asked if i’d like to review some of their stuff and so I said “Thanks, we could use some new cables and stuff for the car and we’re also off to the UK so i’ll take it their too”. They said great 🙂

When I travel that last thing I want is to have stuff that breaks or performs poorly so as a third party manufacturer, Belkin had a bit of pressure applied… lets have a look and see how their stuff got on.

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1 – First up are the cables

They are braided and feel really robust like they will last. I’m sure we’ve all had the plastic/rubber ones that feel a bit like they’re going to fall apart. Well these don’t, they’re good and the ends feel solid and uasy to plg and un-plug. Some can be to tight but these are just right. I’d have to use them for at least a year consistently to see how they fared but so far, so good.

I had the micro USB for my Samsung Note 4 and a 3.5mm aux cable so that we could play songs off phones in cars that might not have Bluetooth. I’ve misplaced the Aux lead so no close up photo, sorry. I reckon a FastKid has ‘Borrowed’ it!

I’d give both cables 5 / 5

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2 – Next is the power pack – The MIXIT 4000! Sounds like a food blender.

It’s a great colour that you’ll struggle to lose and feels nice in my hand. It charged pretty quick using my Samsung charger and the Belkin lead so that was good. It’s got indicator lights to show you that it’s charging and also where it’s at when you’re using it or it’s de-charging, which are pretty neat.

They sometimes get a little flakey though when charging, like they don’t know where they’re at in terms of the charge. That’s the only thing I could find against it. It charged my Note 4 from flat to 100% in about an hour while it was switched off which I thought was pretty awesome actually.

I score the power pack – 4/5

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3 – The in car multi-port thing calld the Road Rockstar.

This is what I was looking forward to most because when there’s not enough usb ports/12v ports in cars, which is nearly all of them, it can become a race/fight for who gets the port first. Especially when road tripping. This was the savior. When all four ports are in use it struggles to add any charge and if all devices are being used then it struggles to maintain you existing charge. However, when no devices are being used and basically charged then it charges them all, slowly but it charges them. I reckon you’d have to upgrade your cars 12v port for this to be as good as it can be. I still love it though!

We didn’t turn the devices off, which would have helped, but who does that when road tripping? You’ve got to keep the kids quiet right!

This get’s – 5/5 just for being invented.

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4 – Std 1 port 12v adapter

Does it’s job. Pushes 2.4A into my device and works. What else is their really? Oh, I guess it’s got an led indicator, it is quite compact and it actually feels really nice.

Score – 5/5

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5 – The Phone cup holder.

It’s a great idea and is well made. My Note 4 only fits when I take the cover off which was a a bit of a pain, it got in the way of the hand brake in the Vauxhall Zafira we rented in the UK and it won’t fit into the KIA Grand Carnival cup holders as they’re too big! I’m being a little harsh here as it’s really sturdy, grips the cup holder tightly, as well as your phone so it is a great product. The hole in the nexk is great to put your charging lead through too.

For the right person, with the right sized cup holder, in the right car, with the right phone/device it’ll be perfect i’m sure. Why do car manufacturers make it so damn difficult?!

Two scores for this one

1 – 2/5 for it’s usefulness for me this time

And – 2 – 5/5 For the concept and it’s quality.

That’s it for the Belkin in-car stuff (and portable) review and under extreme pressure to perform, I reckon it all came out well. Apart from the cup holder thing but some one will love it! Cheers Belkin and keep up the good work.

If you use any of this stuff or if you’ve got any recommendations, let me know in the comments below.

Hey there, Fast Lane Dad here. I'm a Daddy Blogger who's telling cyberspace how I am bringing up our 3 boys, with the help of Fast Lane Mum of course! It might not be pretty sometimes, but that's life. Welcome to the Fast Lane.